Title: What Grows Within
Author: ConjureLass
Rating: PG
Pairing: Axel/Roxas
Story Type: One-Shot, Short Drabble, 1098 words
Spoiler: I don't think so. It's pre KH:COM
Info: This was my response to my dear friend Ginny who wrote me a beautiful story earlier. I told her I'd write her something back. This is it.
In the World That Never Was, nothing ever grew. Though powerful and full of radiance, the false Kingdom Hearts that floated peacefully above the bleary city was never enough to prompt the soft growth of living things, never enough to bring life to a place that was not supposed to exist. And maybe it was this that bothered Roxas most; someone whose innate power was that of light was drawn to that which was most alive simply by nature.
And nothing in this world was alive…not even himself.
Rain was the only thing that always seemed alive in this place, forever falling onto the harsh concrete and giving the lonely place some semblance of movement. Otherwise everything was still, from the air that they breathed to the lack of sound…nothing moved, nothing changed. It was impossible to change that which never truly started. The ripples in the water could never begin when the rock itself was never dropped into its depths. That was how this world was, and yet Roxas was in the courtyard of a building staring at something that completely defied logic.
A small flower, no more than a weed, was withered and nearly dead, sitting between the cracks of the concrete. And though alone it may have been…still…it was growing and surviving. And Roxas knelt beside it, his wet hair dripping down onto the leaves that were a startling contrast of green against the black concrete that it grew up out of. Roxas had to squint to see the color; barely able to make it out in the pale shine of Kingdom Hearts, but the light butter yellow of the petals shone no matter how weak the light. Slowly Roxas' finger came out and touched at the soft petal, watching as the raindrops caught on the leaves and dripped down into a small puddle in the concrete.
Letting his hands come out, Roxas made a small orb of light around the flower, watching in amazement as the plant began to recover, its leaves becoming fuller while he gazed upon it. With that he sat down beside it, wet ass be damned, and allowed the ball of light to continue floating around the plant. He was so enthralled with the site before him that he failed to notice the lingering presence that had been watching him from the shadows the entire time, too afraid to spoil the moment to speak. The red-haired man had found the sight of his friend so enthralling that he could barely breath, barely swallow, barely do anything but stare in absolute amazement.
Roxas was breathtaking…just like always. It was his beautiful mix of innocence and stubborn pride that made Axel simply I want /I him. He could close his eyes and imagine running his lips along Roxas' wet cheek, tasting the water there, knowing he'd tasted the flavor of the younger nobody a hundred times and yet never tiring of it. It was like an addiction, both of Roxas himself and of the way that the blue-eyed boy made him feel. I Feel. /I He'd have never believed it before Roxas came into his life…but there it was. The ability to feel more than the emptiness that surrounded them and controlled them. A key to a door that had been locked by someone else.
The light had been what had drawn him to Roxas in the first place, the glowing orb that attracted him like a moth to a candle in the night. It was only right that a nobody like him wouldn't be used to something like light. No matter how many worlds he visited, the light of them never seemed to permeate the invisible shell that he had around him or inside of him. He'd stood motionless in the shadows just outside the lights reach and watched the scene unfold, finally finding the right moment to announce himself. He hadn't wanted to startle Roxas…
"Roxas," he whispered, a sound almost drowned out by the soft fall of the rain. Roxas turned to him slowly, eyes blinking as though he'd just been awakened from a deep sleep. And Axel stopped dead in his tracks, unable to move. Roxas wasn't like the rest of them at all…and for that Axel was thankful. Sometimes it was almost like putting his hand to fire with his young lover, and he was always grateful that he could never be burned.
"Look," Roxas said, pointing at the flower sprouting out of the ground. Axel finally walked up, blinking as the light of Roxas' orb made his eyes hurt a little. He knelt down beside the shorter boy and looked at the small weed…not too exciting…but the symbolism meant more. "It grew…here…I thought nothing could grow here…"
Axel nodded his head, pulling his hood back off his face and letting the water from the endless rainfall on his hair, though it barely managed to move it at all. Soon he was as wet as Roxas, both still staring at the small flower. Finally, as if the clouds were breaking after a long storm, Roxas spoke again. Only this time his voice was more powerful, more sure of itself, and he gave Axel eyes that were full of something like hope…at least what Axel remembered of it. The smaller hand of his lover came out and grabbed at his sleeve, making Axel look down where the skin and fabric met.
"If things can grow there," Roxas said, pointing down to the ground. "Than things can grow here," and he pointed at where Axel's heart would have been. Axel's mouth fell open, not sure what to say. He didn't have the opportunity to speak anyway as his impulsive lover claimed his lips, the lithe arms moving around his neck as the kiss became more impassioned. And slowly Axel kissed back, lifting Roxas off the ground and into his lap where the smaller boy became cradled. Axel's pulse was hammering in his ears, drowning out the sound of the rain, though not the gentle moan that poured into his open mouth as Roxas voiced his pleasure in the moment.
"Xemnas is wrong about it all," Roxas said, pulling away a few inches from Axel's lips. "He may be a lifeless shell…but we aren't…"
With that Axel took Roxas' lips again, lifting him off the ground and up out of the rain…but not before looking back at the small flower that was now slightly crushed against the concrete from where Roxas' must have accidentally smashed it. Such a delicate thing…so easily destroyed.
He hoped that what grew within himself wasn't quite as fragile…